The Power Of A Message….
Through this experience I have learned the TRUE POWER of a message…..
a post it note……
a text…….
a voicemail…….
a card…….
It generates the feeling that someone out there has your back AND more importantly it reminds that person that they are NEVER ALONE!
When my daughter was in the darkest of her depression…..I was trying every way to possibly reach her. What I realized was…… in the deepest dive into her depression…..face to face conversations and pep talks were not working. As hard as I tried….sitting on her bed and trying to encourage her fell on deaf ears.
One day I decided to write dozens of post it notes of all the things I LOVED and ADMIRED about her.
My motivation was to decorate her room with love in WORD FORM.
LOVE in PRINT catches people off guard…..
LOVE in PRINT sends a visual signal that someone is rooting for you…….
LOVE in PRINT takes thoughtful word selection……….
LOVE in PRINT is there to read and DIGEST when the person receiving the message is READY to receive it…..
SO the next part of this story is the part that I find beautiful.
It would only be human nature to expect that I…. (the mom of someone struggling) would have really hard days as well.
I am not a depressed person by nature BUT the situation I found myself in was a really hard one.
I had MANY days of BREAKDOWNS for hours in the quiet of my own room…… where I would sob hot tears into my bed and think to myself……
”I DON’T KNOW HOW I CAN KEEP DOING THIS DAY AFTER DAY”
“I’M EXHAUSTED”
“EVERYONE LEAVE ME ALONE……..I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE”
The tears would fall……and I would cry in a way I have only heard myself cry a few times in my life…..
I felt defeated and broken…..
That afternoon after I went downstairs to do errands and then returned to my room…..I saw the most beautiful thing I had ever seen….
There were index cards all around my bathroom, closet and bedroom.
Words of LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT from my daughter who was struggling herself.
They were words and thoughts to remind ME what I mean to everyone else and what I have to be grateful for!
I thought to myself…..
”I am reaching her!!!!……..
She knows I am fighting for her happiness and NOW she is fighting for mine!”
“I am loved….I am appreciated….I do have blessings all around me!”
The power of my daughter’s words were impacting ME the way I wanted them to impact HER!
She was getting my MESSAGE!
In that moment I realized……sometimes the quiet messages that are direct and powerful, are the best in situations when people are not willing to “talk”.
For the past 5 years that followed….my messages to my children came in different forms but most of them I send right to their cell phone because we all know……they will always check that.
Depending on the scenario…..my content with them would vary.
If one of my daughters was stuck in a mental rut….I may send a YouTube video on The Law Of Attraction.
If somebody was feeling hopeless…..I may send a quote that reminds them that they are EXACTLY where they need to be AND this too shall pass!
If I just happened to be thinking of them….I may just send a text that simply says…”I could not be any PROUDER of who you are as a person. Keep up the great work!
Little thoughts in different messages can keep our children hopeful and keep them feeling LOVED and VALIDATED.
I realized as a mom……..that expressions of LOVE come in many forms……..
AND……….. if our teens are struggling and not willing or ready to talk……
We can share our WISDOM and SUPPORT sometimes in a simple post-it note, video or text.
They may not want to sit and HEAR the words BUT the words and the sentiment can come in the quietest form possible……it can be received in a message and read on their own terms.
LOVE in PRINT can be louder than ANY conversation we can have with the ones who may be struggling. It is that gentle nudge….that gentle reminder that we have faith in them even when they do not have faith in themselves.
Who do you know that can benefit from a message? You never know the impact your thoughts and words can have on someone else.
Keep spreading the message…..the message that we are NEVER ALONE✨
XOXO🦋
This journey can blindside you and knock you right off of your feet. When that realization happens that thinks are taking a different direction or a detour, it is very hard to comprehend and swallow.
During that time of darkness in